Battle of Berlin & World War II Tours

"A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." - Joseph Stalin (1879 - 1953)

Themes of our private Tour “Battle of Berlin”: Berlin at the end of the Second World War; strategic, military and political dimensions of the struggle; “Everyday life” and human tragedies of Berlin in 1945; Consequences of World War II… (we also provide special historical topics on demand)

This private tour has been prepared for the first time upon request of an American military historian, for whom we did conduct research. For an officer training course of the Irish Army, we have developed and expanded this tour… (learn more about the topics we research for you under Guide & Research).

After four terrible years of war, where the Nazi war machine killed more than 13 million Soviet soldiers and more than 6 million civilians, the Red Army finally reached on January 31st, 1945, the eastern bank of the Oder. After fierce fighting on the way to Berlin, about 1 million Soviet soldiers faced here 100,000 German fighters. The German army consisted only of soldiers in a dilapidated condition, Hitler Youth and from the so-called “Volkssturm”, mostly retired older men. This latest fight in the destroyed Berlin is now called the “Battle of Berlin”.

Our private guided tour deals with the Battle of Berlin and informs you of the details of the battle, the troop movements, the strategies of the leading generals and the experiences of infantry soldiers and Berlin civilians. All this with historical information of the overall context of World War II.

Your personal guide

Your private guide for the tour “Battle of Berlin” has comprehensive historical knowledge (trained historian) and handles this issue with sensibility.

Some places of interest on your Battle of Berlin Tour

Between the massive and utterly impressive monument of a Soviet soldier on one end of the memorial and the statue of Rodina (Mother Russia) at the other end, 5,000 soviet soldiers who died capturing the area are buried. The quotations need to be translated and explained, and there are many other details to discover.

Is it true that the huge Soviet soldier depicted in the statue is carrying a German child he has rescued?

The Reichstag: Soviet propaganda made the former German parliament building into the symbol of the Nazi state, so Soviet soldiers fought with particular ferociousness to get credit for the decisive capture of the building. When they had seized the building it was their ambitious aim to put the Soviet flag on top. This done, they took a picture for the press at home, but then noticed that the soldier holding the flag was wearing three watches. Why?

Soviet propaganda made the former German parliament building into the symbol of the Nazi state, so Soviet soldiers fought with particular ferociousness to get credit for the decisive capture of the building. When they had seized the building it was their ambitious aim to put the Soviet flag on top. This done, they took a picture for the press at home, but then noticed that the soldier holding the flag was wearing three watches. Why?

This museum provides excellent background knowledge on the war between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, the Non-Aggression Pact of 1939, which included the division of Poland and details of Operation Barbarossa, and the Nazi surprise attack in 1941. The museum contains a model of the city of Berlin which we use to describe the final attack. Final surrender was signed here on the 8th of May; the room used has remained unchanged.

The Nazis built Flak towers in Vienna, Hamburg and Berlin. The three massive anti-aircraft flak towers in Berlin, considered invulnerable to attack, served as air raid shelters for tens of thousands of people. Art treasures were also hidden here, often taken later as loot by the Soviets. Only after final surrender did the towers give up: the Soviets never overpowered them. Two of the three towers have been covered by hills: the third can still be seen.

In autumn 1945 a teacher at an elementary school in the Berlin district Prenzlauer Berg asked students to write an essay about the last few days of the war at their houses. Our walk through the district will follow the resulting narratives, which are highly personal reports full of small but shattering details. What did the Germans think of the Russians, and what was their experience with the soldiers?

Female Soviet soldiers found Hitler’s Bunker in May 1945. They searched for his burned body but only found uniforms and medals scattered on the ground. This site is in the center of the last area of Berlin held by the Germans at the end of the war. Hitler’s last orders were issued here. Until the end, Hitler believed he had troops under his command and made delusional military analyses and plans. Here the guide will use maps to explain the lines of the last battlefront in the battle of Berlin.